Why Vermont farmers are using urine on their crops

Why Vermont farmers are using urine on their crops 2 days ago Share Save Becca Warner Share Save Rich Earth Institute In Vermont, pasteurised urine is sprayed on local farmland to fertilise crops Urine was used as fertiliser in ancient Rome and China. Rich Earth Institute Urine's power as a fertiliser is due to the nitrogen and phosphorus that it contains Nancy Love, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Michigan who has collaborated with the team at REI over the last decade, has found that using urine instead of standard synthetic fertiliser reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and requires around half the amount of water. "Our bodies create a lot of nutrients, and right now those nutrients are not only wasted, but they’re actually causing a lot of problems and harm downstream," says Jamina Shupack, REI's executive director. Eamon Twohig, programme manager at Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation, tells the BBC that when REI initially approached them "it was clear there was no 'regulatory box' for urine treatment/recycling… REI has certainly blazed a trail here in Vermont, and I think we've managed to find a workable, regulatory pathway."